Nina Burleigh, author of
the cover story, points to the fact that 96% of the Valley's
venture capitalists are male, and a Babson College study
determined that only 2.7% of the 6,517 companies that received
venture funding from 2011 to 2013 had female CEOs.

She cites a particularly disturbing example that high-profile
investor Heidi Roizen, an operating partner at the powerful VC firm DFJ, wrote about
on her blog last year.

In the post, Roizen recalls an experience she had when she was
building her software company T/Maker, which she cofounded in
1982 and ran as CEO for 14 years. She writes:

Early in T/Maker's life, I was working on a company-defining deal
with a major PC manufacturer. We were on track to do about a
million in revenue that year: This deal had the potential to
bring in another quarter million, plus deliver millions of
dollars in the years to come if it went well. It was huge.

The PC manufacturer's senior vice president who had been
instrumental in crafting the deal suggested he and I sign over
dinner in San Francisco to celebrate. When I arrived at the
restaurant, I found it a bit awkward to be seated at a table for
four yet to be in two seats right next to each other, but it was
a French restaurant and that seemed to be the style, so down I
sat.

Wine was brought and toasts were made to our great future
together. About halfway through the dinner he told me he had also
brought me a present, but it was under the table, and would I
please give him my hand so he could give it to me. I gave him my
hand, and he placed it in his unzipped pants.

Yes, this really happened.

She then recounts similarly demoralizing (but less extreme)
examples of sexism throughout her entrepreneurial career,
including when she was pregnant and had an investor who asked if
she would even care about her company once her child was born.

Heidi
Roizen.Courtesy of Heidi
Roizen

Roizen writes in her blog post that she's developed "a pretty
thick skin," and offensive remarks that aren't ill-intentioned no
longer affect her like they did when she was young. It is the
intentional, truly sexist behavior she abhors.

In an oft-cited case study conducted by Columbia Business School
more than a decade ago, researchers asked students to appraise
the real-life accomplishments of Roizen listed on the resume of a
fictitious "Howard Roizen." In the end, students deemed Heidi
"more
selfish and less desirable" than "Howard," who had the exact
same credentials.

We asked Roizen what she thinks of sexism in Silicon Valley
today, and she said she could only speak to her own experience.

"As for whether it has changed, I don't feel I have the data to
answer," she told Business Insider. "What I do believe, is that
if you ask an equal number of women and men entrepreneurs today,
'Have you ever been put in an awkward situation because of your
gender?' you will get more yeses from women than men. So I guess
that means it is still an issue."